In a speech about Iran's nuclear program, Ahmadinejad declared that Iran has become a global power, and that it would place its nuclear technology at the service of those determined to confront the U.S. and other Western countries. He announced that Iran was now successfully operating over 3,000 centrifuges, continued to downplay the impact of the U.N. Security Council sanctions on Iran, and reiterated Iran's official stance of refusal to freeze its nuclear activity. Ahmadinejad also harshly censured senior Iranian officials who had called for compromise with the West on Iran's nuclear program out of fear of a possible U.S. attack on Iran, hinting that they were traitors.

U.S. confirms Syria-N. Korea nuke link

WASHINGTON -- The United States has determined that Syria has been seeking nuclear weapons from North Korea.

"We do know that there are a number of foreign technicians that have been in Syria," Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Andrew Semmel said. "We do know that there may have been contact between Syria and some secret suppliers for nuclear equipment. Whether anything transpired remains to be seen."

One North Korean-flagged ship, Al Hamad, arrived in the Syrian port of Tartous on Sept. 3. Three days later, the Israel Air Force attacked an unspecified target in northeastern Syria along the Euphrates River near the border with Turkey.

Officials said North Korea has provided nuclear material and guidance to Syria. They said Pyongyang has helped establish underground facilities that could be used to produce weapons-grade uranium for the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

"There are indicators that they do have something going on there," Semmel, who did not rule out the involvement of the so-called nuclear smuggling network once led by Abdul Qadeer Khan, said on Sept. 13.

"There are North Korean people there," Semmel said. "There's no question about that. Just as there are a lot of North Koreans in Iraq and Iran."

Israel has not denied an air force operation in Syria. But officials have refused to provide any details.

Bush the Jihadist: How the world was plunged into an apocalyptic war

by CORRELLI BARNETT

the World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001, was nothing like Pearl Harbour on December 7, 1941, when the entire American battle fleet was sunk or crippled by a mass air attack by another great power, Japan.

Deaths at Pearl Harbor: 2117

Deaths on 9/11 (whan at least 200 JUMPED to their deaths): 2996

41.7% more.

Value of the battleships sunk (OK and CA, and AZ, WV): about $250 million in today's dollars

Value of WTC, Pentagon, lost revenue, lost value in airlines...anyone doubt it was in the tens of BILLIONS? Many businesses NEVER returned to NYC or Manhattan. What was the final 'insurance' settlement? The suit over finding the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia responsible (and others) still goes on, doesn't it?

Proximate reason for Pearl Harbor - our economic measures taken over their invasion(s) of China had crippled Japan

Proximate Reason for 9/11 - Our military measures to physically redeem Kuwait left men in the Hijaz

Real Reason for Pearl Harbor - Japanese Empire could never succeed until it was able to encompass the resources of south asia

Real Reason for 9/11 - the Caliphate could never succeed while successful free peoples 'debauched the world' as satan's instruments running about making up their own rules out of their own heads instead of following god as the sovereign. Nation States no longer exist for such movements.

No matter how sensational its impact, 9/11 still remains a terrorist outrage perpetrated by a mere 19 men armed with Stanley knives.

Nor had the attack been masterminded, like Pearl Harbour, by the government of a foreign state, but simply by an Islamist fanatic and a handful of co-conspirators.

So for Bush to declare "war" on Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda was actually to exaggerate their importance - and glorify their actions. Worse, it was his declaration of "war" that led in 2001 to the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and, in 2003, to the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Translation - Americans, you are TOO wedded to the ideal that the life of your compatriots is so important, and you should be more like us and tolerate a certain level of mass murder in order to get along. That you are not like us, and have thus 'dragged the world' into this situation we now abhor you. Since you are determined to be like this, it means YOU are the problem, not those who attacked you.

We get the picture, you fruit smelling twits. Do you?

SHAME Daily Mail. SHAME.

WWWSCD?
 

Another terrible, shocking, surprise ...salafist freaks working with khomeinist freaks to kill americasn and jews wherever they are found, and plunder their goods.... and achieve a world without zionism, McDonald's, commercials or humor
 

GERTZ - WASHINGTON — The U.S. intelligence community has determined that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been working with Al Qaida leaders in Iran to plan attacks against the United States.

They said that from virtual house arrest in 2004, Iran has enabled the son of Al Qaida chief Osama Bin Laden and other top agents to plan operations and policy.

"Al Qaida's leadership has been coopted by Iran and constitutes an option for a major strike either in the Middle East or even the United States," an official said. "We always suspected some Al Qaida cooperation with Iran, but this is bigger than ever."

Officials said Al Qaida's leadership council, led by Saad Bin Laden, the son of the movement's founder, convenes nearly monthly in Iran. They said senior operatives arrive for meetings from Afghanistan and Pakistan as Teheran supplies Al Qaida with weapons and facilitates the flow of operatives to neighboring Iraq.

DUH, gee, I was told they hated each other and would never work together. 

Top official: Globalization robs U.S. of intelligence edge, facilitates terrorism

A senior U.S. intelligence official told Congress last week that the United States is losing its intelligence power as the result of globalization and the rise of foreign intelligence challenges.

Thomas Fingar, deputy director of national intelligence for analysis said globalization is the defining characteristic of the age and “mandates global intelligence coverage.

However, the increasing trend to closer international connectivity also makes it difficult for U.S. intelligence to operate.

WHAAAAAH WHAAAAH ....INTOLERABLE, INSUFFERABLE, WHERE ARE THE SONS OF BITCHES? 

Fingar said “globalization does facilitate the terrorist threat, increases the danger of WMD proliferation, and contributes to regional instability and reconfigurations of power and influence — especially through competition for energy.”

China lands new oil assets in Sudan deal despite Darfour crisis

LONDON — China's strategic partnership with Sudan has yielded a new deal to develop offshore oil in a blow to international efforts to block financing for the ongoing conflict in Darfour.

The state-owned China National Petroleum Corp. has been awarded a contract to develop a Sudanese offshore oil block with Indonesia's PT Pertamina.

The accord, which includes exploration and development, was signed on June 28 in Khartoum, Middle East Newsline reported.

On July 2, the China Petroleum Daily reported that the exploration phase would last six years. CNPC would also be granted a 20-year concession for future oil production.

The contract was disclosed amid an international effort to block foreign companies from developing Sudan's oil sector.

Western governments have asserted that Sudan was using oil revenues to finance the war in Darfour.

Since Sudan’s government started the ethnic cleansing of its own people in 2003, at least 200,000 have died and more than two million have become displaced. Despite multiple campaigns of concern by the international community, the Islamic rulers in Khartoum have effectively blocked serious UN peacekeeping efforts to stem the violence.

We have to move past fossil fuels in america. We will never conserve our way to prosperity, and political freedom on the international side by riding bycicles in the winter and freezing in the dark.

What's DARPA's budget at major universities in the USA for this?

Someone IS going to solve this riddle, and it had better be us. 

Financial Times and Telegraph UK:World will face oil crunch ‘in five years’

The world is facing an oil supply “crunch” within five years that will force up prices to record levels and increase the west’s dependence on oil cartel Opec, the industrialised countries’ energy watchdog has warned.
In its starkest warning yet on the world’s fuel outlook, the International Energy Agency said “oil looks extremely tight in five years time” and there are “prospects of even tighter natural gas markets at the turn of the decade”.
The IEA said that supply was falling faster than expected in mature areas, such as the North Sea or Mexico, while projects in new provinces such as the Russian Far East, faced long delays. Meanwhile consumption is accelerating on strong economic growth in emerging countries.
The problem is exacerbated by the fact that supply from non-members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will increase at an annual pace of 1 per cent, or less than half the rate of the demand rise.
The widening gap between rising consumption and lagging non-Opec supply will force Opec to sharply increase its production in the next five years.

This, like a SECURE BORDER(S), is one of those, 'what's the PROBLEM?' issues. There is wide unquestioned public support. There is a mountain to climb. TAKE THE STEPS, and we don't want to hear your excuses. In the former problem we can assume big business and it's money and greed demand the open border and have perverted the system (as dire a warning sign as there is considering the stakes). But with the oil crisis, it's sucking economic drain to a raw material on alien shores, and it's heavy penalties, it is beyond me why the motions to solve the energy questions, and fuel questions are NOT the second highest priority we have (besides killing the killers). Unless we free ourselves from this fuel (and it's attendant costs for the eco freaks in global warming, and it's political and economic wasting costs) stupidity, and move to the next stage of industrial development WHATEVER SOLUTION THAT MEANS IN TERMS OF SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING R&D and production, the idea of civilization as we know it will INEVITABLY drag us into a resource war, along with the religious one.

So sorry, but, why is this not yet clear? The forces compelling all this are PLAIN TO SEE, civilizational level and consequently titanic.

Report: Al Qaida network planning UK plot of 'Hiroshima' caliber

A British intelligence report stated that recent planned terrorist attacks in Britain, including the July 2005 suicide attacks in London, were linked to “core Al Qaida leaders.”

“Networks linked to AQ Core pose the greatest threat to the UK," stated the report by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Center at Britain’s MI-5 headquarters and obtained by the Daily Telegraph.

The report said there is a potential threat from Al Qaida in Iraq. “A member of this network is reportedly involved in an operation which he believes requires AQ Core authorization,” the report said.

“He claims the operation will be on 'a par with Hiroshima and Nagasaki' and will 'shake the Roman throne'.

“We assess that this operation is most likely to be a large-scale, mass casualty attack against the West," stated the report, noting that Al Qaida networks are active in Britain.

Stratfor this AM:

TURKEY: Turkey has no plans to send troops into Northern Iraq to confront Kurdish militants, though military action remains an option for the future, a Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman said. Recent buildups of Turkish troops and tanks near the Iraqi border have sparked concerns that Turkey might launch operations against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) members in the Iraq's Kurdish north, though the Turkish army has said the buildup is intended to combat PKK members in Turkey.

AP Noon: 

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Several thousand Turkish troops crossed into northern Iraq early Wednesday to chase Kurdish guerrillas who operate from bases there, Turkish security officials told The Associated Press.

Two senior security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said the raid was limited in scope and that it did not constitute the kind of large incursion that Turkish leaders have been discussing in recent weeks.

"It is not a major offensive and the number of troops is not in the tens of thousands," one of the officials told the AP by telephone. The official is based in southeast Turkey, where the military has been battling separatist Kurdish rebels since they took up arms in 1984.

The U.S. military said it could not confirm the reports but was "very concerned."

The last major Turkish incursion into northern Iraq was in 1997, when about 50,000 troops were sent to the region.

American casualties in Iraq over 4 years are identical to those on Sept 17th 1862, on THAT ONE DAY, and yet we cannot sustain them.

On Sept 17th 1862, after repeated numerous significant lost battles, destroyed campaigns, and inept planning, execution, and abysmal failure, George McClellan, having been gifted with Robt E Lee's exact plans wrapped around some lost cigars, went out and actually attacked him  on Northern soil, near Antietam Creek at Sharpsburg, MD.

By day's end, there were 3650 dead, and 22,750 casualties. That represent 25% of all men engaged that day.

Since we conquered Iraq we have, according to CNN, 3,749 american dead, and 25,549 wounded. In 1500 more days, we have sustained as many casualties, yet a large majority of americans wants out of Iraq.

By the time Abe Lincoln wrote himself a letter (August 1864) predicting his own defeat in November because americans, he believed would not support a war to free slaves, there were ~850,000 casualties. HE thought that since the war had morphed from a war to preserve the Union to one of freeing the slaves (at his urging) he would lose

But it's not the Civil War, you say.

Well, THAT wasn't viewed in the way it is now, then either. No less than Horace Greeley said, let the "wayward sisters depart in peace". We see how consequential it all was today. Well many today, who view Iraq as part of the World War feel that way now. Most however do not.

But as (arch Reaganite) Peggy Noonan expressed today her separation from the admin:

The beginning of my own sense of separation from the Bush administration came in January 2005, when the president declared that it is now the policy of the United States to eradicate tyranny in the world, and that the survival of American liberty is dependent on the liberty of every other nation. This was at once so utopian and so aggressive that it shocked me.

That mission's theory in which our security is guaranteed by democracy's spread is exactly the issue of what others see as the neoconservative ideal, as Ms. Noonan does.

Has this failed because it must, because it is wrong or cannot be?

Or has it failed because THIS TIME americans have lost faith with the underlying idea (as apparently we would have had Sherman not taken Atlanta, and then gutted Georgia).

		Richard Nott Antrim Born: 17 December 1907, Peru, Ind. Rank: Commander Organization: Unites States Navy Accredited To: New York Other Navy Award: N/A

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while interned as a prisoner of war of the enemy Japanese in the city of Makassar, Celebes, Netherlands East Indies, in April 1942. Acting instantly on behalf of a naval officer who was subjected to a vicious clubbing by a frenzied Japanese guard venting his insane wrath upon the helpless prisoner, Comdr. (then Lt.) Antrim boldly intervened, attempting to quiet the guard and finally persuading him to discuss the charges against the officer. With the entire Japanese force assembled and making extraordinary preparations for the threatened beating, and with the tension heightened by 2,700 Allied prisoners rapidly closing in, Comdr. Antrim courageously appealed to the fanatic enemy, risking his own life in a desperate effort to mitigate the punishment. When the other had been beaten unconscious by 15 blows of a hawser and was repeatedly kicked by 3 soldiers to a point beyond which he could not survive, Comdr. Antrim gallantly stepped forward and indicated to the perplexed guards that he would take the remainder of the punishment, throwing the Japanese completely off balance in their amazement and eliciting a roar of acclaim from the suddenly inspired Allied prisoners. By his fearless leadership and valiant concern for the welfare of another, he not only saved the life of a fellow officer and stunned the Japanese into sparing his own life but also brought about a new respect for American officers and men and a great improvement in camp living conditions. His heroic conduct throughout reflects the highest credit upon Comdr. Antrim and the U.S. Naval Service.

Shin Bet foils attempt to kill Olmert

A Palestinian from the Gaza Strip who works for the humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders has been arrested for allegedly plotting to assassinate Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) revealed Thursday. Mazab Bashir, 25, from Deir el-Balah began working with Doctors Without Borders five years ago. On April 19, he confessed during a Shin Bet interrogation that for months, he had been collecting intelligence on senior Israeli officials - including Olmert and a number of Knesset members. Bashir met with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in September 2006, and said that the assassination was meant to avenge the deaths of Palestinian civilians.

They make our guys look diligent..

Iraqi legislature to go on 2 month vaca this summer?

OR... Iraq unites the USA

BAGHDAD- Iraqi lawmakers said Thursday they might consider shortening—or even canceling—their planned two-month summer break to continue working. But they insisted that pressure from Washington is not behind the possible holiday-on-hold.

And besides, they say, the U.S. Congress is not thinking of calling off its own recess because of wartime debate.

If these gavones want to lead, then they had better be seen to lead. If these people want to keep a republic THEY had better be prepared to do WHAT IT TAKES.

NO american, NONE will support Iraq being death ground for american sacrifice and treasure if the Iraqis head for the beach, and they won't deserve it.

The Pushtun are the enemy of the people of the USA.

Pro-Pakistan tribal leader 'would shelter Bin Laden'

WANA, Pakistan (AFP) - A pro-government tribal leader hailed by Pakistan for expelling foreign militants from a troubled frontier region said Friday he would protect Osama bin Laden if he sought shelter with him.

Mullah Mohammad Nazir told a rare press conference in Wana, the main town in South Waziristan tribal district, that he had never met the Al-Qaeda chief but would help him in line with local traditions.

"Bin Laden has never come to this area but if he comes here and seeks our protection then according to tribal laws and customs we will protect him," the 32-year-old former Taliban commander said.

"Our traditions and customs demand that we support the oppressed," added Nazir, who was flanked by heavily-armed gunmen.

Also that all jews should die and Crusaders along with them, probably even if you pay the tax. So sorry.

We are all just so surprised to hear this !

Times UK - Hardliners in the Iranian regime have warned that the seizure of British naval personnel demonstrates that they can make trouble for the West whenever they want to and do so with impunity.

The bullish reaction from Teheran will reinforce the fears of western diplomats and military officials that more kidnap attempts may be planned.

The British handling of the crisis has been regarded with some concern in Washington, and a Pentagon defence official told The Sunday Telegraph: "The fear now is that this could be the first of many. If the Brits don't change their rules of engagement, the Iranians could take more hostages almost at will.

"Iran has come out of this looking reasonable. If I were the Iranians, I would keep playing the same game. They have very successfully muddied the waters and bought themselves some more time. And in parts of the Middle East they will be seen as the good guys. They could do it time and again if they wanted to."

How stupid are we.....

Americans also expressed dismay that the British had suspended boarding operations in the Gulf while its tactics are reassessed. "Iran has got what it wants. They have secured free passage for smuggling weapons into Iraq without a fight," one US defence department official said.

 

TEL AVIV — Iran has been working on a new-generation Shihab-class intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of striking most of Europe.

Gertz: Israeli intelligence sources said Iran has been developing the Shihab-4 missile, with a range of 3,500 to 4,000 kilometers. China, Belarus, North Korea and Russia are assisting. "The next generation of Shihab, which could hit London and Paris, would be ready by 2009," said parliamentarian Yuval Steinitz, former chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. The sources said Iran has been producing and fielding the Shihab-3ER, which could strike targets 2,000 kilometers away. Teheran launched an extended-range Shihab-3 during the Great Prophet exercise in the Gulf in November 2006.

Say, how about those negotiations guys? Making any headway?

! NOT

No more GWOT, House committee decrees

The House Armed Services Committee is banishing the global war on terror from the 2008 defense budget.

YEMEN: IRANIAN-MADE DRONE SHOT DOWN, SAYS OFFICIAL

Sanaa, 28 March (AKI) - An unmanned plane has been shot down while carrying out surveillance in Yemeni airspace over the country's southern Hadramawt province, according to a report on the Arab newspaper, al-Hayat, quoting Yemen government officials. The drone was shot down on Tuesday but the news was only confirmed by officials on Wednesday. The report said that the drone was Iranian-built and that it patrolled the area along the coast of Yemen. It is believed that the plane is used in reconnaissance missions to take photographs.

And let's not forget this 

U.S., Israel conduct missile defense simulations against potential Iran strike

GERTZ:

TEL AVIV — Israel and the United States have been holding a missile defense simulation exercise designed to integrate the systems of both countries and to answer a strike from Iran. The Juniper Cobra-2007 exercise began in early March and was scheduled to end on March 20 in military bases in Israel. Officials said the current exercise — also intended to defend against an Iranian and Syrian ballistic missile strike — would not use live missile fire because of logistical difficulties stemming from the war against Hizbullah in mid-2006. Instead, the exercise was based on software simulation at the Israel Air Force air defense command. Officers from Israel and the U.S. Army V Corps' 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade joined in the effort to enhance interoperability in command and control and battle management.

Islamic Jihad: Rice's visit means to campaign strike against Iran

A senior Islamic Jihad leader said on Saturday that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to the Middle East that starts today, meant to rally support for attacking Iran or Hezbollah.

"We think this visit comes as part of preparations for war targeting Iran or Hezbollah... and maybe to strike an Arab country, " Khaled al-Batsh of the Islamic Jihad told reporters in Gaza.

Rice began a four-day tour to the region where she will meet with Egyptian, Jordanian, Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

 

All you have to do to understand this action, AND THE FUTURE by and from the Iranians is to come to grips with several short ideas:

• The Iranians believe that the west is risk averse in both people and its governing system
• The west can't do a damn thing
• Therefore by keeping the initiative, they dictate the situation

You will see this again.

Times UK- FIFTEEN British sailors and marines arrested by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards off the coast of Iraq may be charged with spying.

The problem is not the nukes, it is the Khomeinist freak mullahs, people. There will be no end until there are no such mullahs.

Why were the USA and Britain not prepared for EXACTLY this situation?
Why was force security reaction not orbiting overhead and prepared?
Why are these questions not being asked aloud?
Why are heads not rolling in plans?